New Brothers, New Bathroom, New Boundaries
by Tygers eyes
Summary: SPOILERS: Karai's Vendetta This is just how I think an only child (April) would react to being forced to live with brothers (The Turtles) that have lived with each other forever and have shared a bathroom for their entire lives. Leo isn't in her much because I think he has an sense about these things. Sorry for any mistakes. -One Shot-


April woke up in a very different place. The first thing she was aware of was how cool and damp her face felt. The next thing she was aware of was the fact that the ceiling was too far away to be her aunt's house. Her heart beat jumped, she opened her eyes wide only to have her memory function again. She was in the lair. She turned her head to see the rest of the area, but all she could see was Donnie's beaming face sitting in front of the couch cross-legged. Aprils face twisted at the thought of how long Donatello had been there. Watching her. Sleeping.

"Good morning April." Donnie gushed; he probably had been waiting hours to say that. "I made you breakfast." He raised a plateful of eggs.

April sat up and tried to rub the sleep from her face. "Where did you get eggs?" Her tired voice was mumbled and cracked.

"From your Aunt's house, last night." April's hands stopped rubbing. "I figured you would be eating them anyways. You want to hear about how I figured out how to crack the eggs with a..." Donnie was getting into his explanation mode. April dropped her hands enough to shoot daggers at Donny boy's face. It was too early in the morning to deal with his antics. Donnie chucked nervously picking up her annoyance, "I'l… I'll just let you eat that alone." He got up quickly and left.

The eggs where quite good, she was worried that she would be fed algae and worm. I could still happen, but this morning she was glad it was normal food.

After breakfast she needed to get rid of her morning breath and quickly. She swept up her backpack full of her things and headed to where the boys had told her where the bathroom was. She hesitated outside the door. A Bathroom. Shared. By Four Boys. She had heard horror stories from her friends that had just one brother or two. How much damage could four do? '

"Hiya April!" Mikey strolled up to the door. "Whatcha doing standing outside of the bathroom?"

"Umm, just going to brush my teeth?"

"Cool me too." He opened the door and strolled in.

She knew the turtle had teeth but she had never thought of them brushing them. She followed Mikey in. the bathroom was surprisingly clean; in fact it was super clean. She wondered if Splinter had made them clean it before April got there. Even though it was a part of the subway station's small bathroom, there were bathmats all over the tiled floor. To the right back corner was the toilet, facing the wall that the door was on. To the left the wall had been knocked down and there was a Japanese screen put up to what April suspected to be a tub. There was a pipe that ran from behind there against the wall, under the sink to the drain in the floor that every public bathroom had. The sink was dead center of the wall. Someone had built selves beside to hold various items most of it was medical things, a towel, toothpaste, extra TP, and a cup with color coded tooth brushes. Mikey grabbed the orange one, squirted paste on it and went to town. April reached into her bag and did the same.

It was weird brushing her teeth with someone. She felt the obligation to ask Mikey how his morning was but her mouth was full of suds, so they brushed in relative silence. She usually did this alone collecting her thoughts as she moved the brush mechanically, now all she could focus on was the sound of Mikeys wild brushing. Mikey bent down and spat. He then bent his head under the stream of water and sipped up some of the liquid and gargled. April made a face. Brushing your own teeth was ok, but watching someone else was kind of gross. While Mikey was entertaining himself by gargling, April took her chance to spit out her toothpaste. She put her things away and got out her facewash, towel, and head band.

"What's that?" Mikey pointed to the new bottle he had never seen before.

"Facewash." April put her hair back.

"What does it do?"

April splashed warm water on her face. "It cleans my face." she rubbed the substance over her forehead.

"But can't soap just do that?"

April had covered her face. "Human's faces are a little more sensitive, they need special soap. I have facewash for my face." She rinsed her face off

"Oooohh, weird. So do you get zits?"

April dried her face. "How do you know about zits?" she frowned, she had kinda hoped that Mikey would have left the bathroom by now.

Mikey shrugged, "There are ads at the back of the magazines and comic books you bring."

"Oh." She really didn't care how he knew, she just asked out of surprise. She put her facewash away and got out her brush. It was now time to struggle with her hair.

"What is that!" Mikey swiped the brush from her hand. "This looks like it could be a wicked weapon. Think if the ends where sharpened, and you chucked it at someone." Mikey made a thwacking sound and smacked the brush to his chest. "AAAAAAAAAAAahhhh! I'm Dying! So many… sharp… prongs!" Mikey dramatically swaggered around.

If it had been later in the day and she had had a moment to herself she would have thought this amusing. Not this morning, she put her chin out, harshly swiped the brush out of his hands, and pointed to the door behind them. Mikey pouted but walked out anyways. April closed the door behind him. She tried to lock the door but the locking mechanism was broken. She would have to talk to Donatello about that. All she wanted was a shower. Alone time to take all of this in.

April folded back the screen. There was a tub there just as she predicted but there wasn't water hooked up to it, the only pipe that was connected to the tub was to the drain. The Tub had to be on cement blocks to accommodate that. There was a small step stool next to the tub. April looked into the tub, there was a hose piled in side of it. One end of the hose was strapped on to the spigot that water would have come out of. The other end was free. She looked at it for a while; she much would rather have a shower, but oh well getting clean was getting clean. She screwing the free end of the hose to the sink and turning on the hot water. April pulled out her shower things and her towel and put them on the shelf that was at the foot of the Tub.

After awhile she shut off the sink faucet, opened the screen all the way, draped the hose over the screen and enjoyed a soak.

As April was getting relaxed she heard the bathroom door open. April's eyes snapped open, her brain panicked as she slid down farther into the water. Yes whoever it was couldn't see her with the screen up but still! She needed privacy.

The other person yawned, "Mornin' April."

April almost shot out of the water. "RAPH, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

"Nature calls." Raphael replied nonchalantly.

"RAPHAEL! GET. OUT."

"Not much I can do now."

"AHGE." April reach behind her to the shelf for a weapon. From the looks of the rubber ducky it might have been Mikeys. She chucked it over the screen.

"Gees, don't blame a guy for having a tiny bladder." The toilet flushed.

"_Finally!" _April mentally screamed. Then she heard the sink go on. "NOW Rapheal!"

"Fine, just trying to be sanitary."

Once she heard the door open and close again, April huffed at the ceiling. This morning was a nightmare she was sure of it.

After April was clean and had time to think things though, she pulled the plug, dried and got dressed. April slung her backpack over her shoulder and faced the door. She took a deep breath and opened it. No one was out in the main living area, but there was noises coming from the Dojo. April investigated.

She walked in to view Raphael down on the ground drooling numbly on the rugs, Mikey in a head lock by Leonardo, and Master Splinter sitting on Donatello's shell while he did push-ups.

Master Splinter put a tea cut up to his lips and took a tiny sip. "Good morning, April. Today's lesson is about giving yourself and your opponent space."


End file.
